1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and associated apparatus for controlling access to an electrical power network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typically, if one needs to charge an electrical device, for example a laptop or mobile phone, one will do this at home. Although, some environments, for example airports and trains, may allow people to charge small electrical items, with an increasing demand on our power infrastructure this may no longer be possible. Furthermore, with the introduction and increased popularity of electric vehicles, the demand on the power infrastructure is becoming further stretched.
US/2009/0177595 describes a metering device allowing electricity exchange between an electric vehicle and the network. However, this document only allows users to sell electricity when the price is a certain level.
Due to this increased load on the power infrastructure, it is becoming more difficult to balance the load on a power network, particularly during peak demand.
Further, most electricity providers provide 100% green electricity to their consumers. This means that the energy provider will guarantee that within the same year it produced the same amount of green electricity that was consumed by a user. However, currently this may only be possible for consumers in their homes. Accordingly, there is a problem that a consumer wishes to be allowed access to so-called green electricity when not in their home.
It is an aim of the present invention to address these problems.